Bloomingdale: Police Blotter, December 30, 2012

Police say that although the "gun" a local man allegedly possessed wasn’t the real McCoy, he was still arrested and charged.

On Friday, Dec. 21, at 10:20 p.m., Patrolman David Terpstra and Patrolman Kevin Peirsel responded to a local bar on Hamburg Turnpike for a parking complaint. While on location, a patron spoke with Terpstra concerning a man she had seen in the bar earlier in the evening. According to a Police Department release, the patron said that the man had shown her what appeared to be a silver handgun.

"The officers spoke to several additional patrons, along with the bartender, who concurred with the story, adding that the gun had been tucked into the male's pants and was only revealed when the male lifted his shirt," states the blotter.

A description of the man and the vehicle he left in was supplied, and then broadcast to area law enforcement by the Pompton Lakes Police Department. At 10:39 p.m., two Butler police units stopped a vehicle matching the description. Patrolman Dimitri Clarke and Patrolman Jarred Schmiedhauser of Butler Police Department informed the Bloomingdale Police Department of their stop, and met up with Patrolman Terpstra.

The release states that the man – later identified as John Lahowchic, 35, of Bloomingdale – met the description given, and it was discovered that he was in possession of what turned out to be an Airsoft gun. ("Airsoft" is a recreational activity in which participants eliminate their opponents by shooting them with non-metallic pellets fired from replica firearms.)

"Typically such items have an orange-colored safety tip, but this gun tip had been painted black," states the release.

Lahowchic was arrested and transported to police headquarters for processing where he was charged with possession of an imitation firearm for unlawful purposes.

An unspecified bail amount was set by the municipal judge, and a family member responded to headquarters and posted the bail. Lahowchic was then released pending his court date.

By Bryan LaPlaca

& Donna Rolando

"Police news" is compiled by Suburban Trends from information provided by the police department. The information is released to the press at the discretion of the police department and may not represent the total scope of police activity. All persons are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.